The present invention relates to an endoscope holding apparatus for suspending and holding an endoscope or an endoscopic treatment member.
Each of an endoscope and an endoscopic treatment member is generally configured in a manner that an operation portion is coupled to the base end of an elongated insertion portion. Thus, in most cases, each of the endoscope and the endoscopic treatment member is held in a state where the operation portion is hung on a hanger and the insertion portion is suspended beneath the operation portion.
However, waste liquid such as exudation within the body is adhered to the endoscope or the endoscopic treatment member as to which an inspection using the endoscope has just finished. Thus, if such an endoscope or an endoscopic treatment member is held in the aforesaid state, there may arise a case that the waste liquid drips on a floor or a person touches or contacts with the waste liquid and is polluted while moving. In contrast, there may arise a case that when a peripheral person or thing contacts with the sterilized endoscope or endoscopic treatment member before use, the endoscope or the endoscopic treatment member is polluted.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a sanitary endoscope holding apparatus which is arranged in a manner that the periphery is hardly polluted by an endoscope or an endoscopic treatment member suspended from a hanger and, on the contrary, the endoscope or the endoscopic treatment member hardly contacts with a peripheral thing or person and is polluted.
In order to attain the aforesaid object, an endoscope holding apparatus according to the present invention is designed such that a cover tube, which is formed to be opened only at it""s upper surface and closed at its remaining portions, is disposed so as to be attachable and detachable beneath a hanger for suspending and holding the endoscope or an endoscopic treatment member and so as to surround at least a tip end portion of the endoscope or the endoscopic treatment member in a state of being suspended from and held by the hanger.
The hanger may be attached to a proximity of an upper end of a pillar, and a cover tube holding member for holding the cover tube may be attached to the pillar beneath the hanger. In case that an attachment height of the cover tube holding member with respect to the pillar is adjustable, the apparatus can be adapted for various kinds of endoscopes.
The cover tube may be formed by a soft bag-shaped member. A plurality of the cover tubes may be disposed in a state that the cover tubes are jointed in series and wound into a rolled shape, and the cover tube pulled down from the rolled shape may be disposed to surround the at least the tip end portion of the endoscope or endoscopic treatment member suspended from and held by the hanger. In this case, the supply of the cover tube is easy.
Further, in this case, the cover tube holding member may have a rolled portion support portion for rotatably supporting the rolled shape of the cover tubes, and a pull down portion placement portion for placing a proximity of an upper end portion of the cover tube pulled down from the rolled shape thereon, and a cutting member may be provided in the vicinity of the pull down portion placement portion for cutting a joint portion between adjacent ones of the jointed cover tubes.
In case that the cover tube has a pleat extending in a longitudinal direction, and/or an opening of the cover tube extends obliquely with respect to a longitudinal direction of the cover tube, the insertion of the endoscope or endoscopic treatment member into the cover tube can be facilitated.
The cover tube may be a rigid tubular member, and may be extensible in an elevational direction.
The present disclosure relates to the subject matter contained in Japanese patent application Nos. 2001-026582 (filed on Feb. 2, 2001) and 2001-393117 (filed on Dec. 26, 2001), which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties